Cold
by KidoTaka
Summary: Ene reminiscing, it's pretty much Takane being cold and wearing Haruka's sweater.


Ene was perched on the desk bar inside Shintaro's computer, flopping her oversized jersey sleeves absent-mindedly. She may have a lot of complaints about her current form (try living a day without proper legs and you might understand a fraction of how she feels), but her long sleeves were something she could at least find a likeability for. The blue colour coordinating sleeves at least gave her some little entertainment, she was pretty simple sometimes because of these little habits she used to entertain herself. She wasn't going to lie, Shintaro was boring. It's only how he reacted to her pranks which she could at least classify as 'fun'. However apart from how pitiful he had become and the unusual circumstances, the computer program preferred shut-in, 'Master' Shintaro over underclass-men, 'Genius' Shintaro any day.

Thinking about her raven-haired companion got her sentimental sometimes. The virus had one good reason for liking Shintaro. The memories he triggered. The girl did like her high school days. They contained memories which made her happy, but in turn the fact that these moments were just memories made her realise what little grip she had on the past.

The illness she suffered as a human gave her nothing but inconvenience but it was the exact same illness that gave her Haruka. The memories were also inconvenient, she liked to remember, of course she did! Her cheery classmate along with the happy and sad memories still clung to her heart, however she feared that one day she'd gradually lose them, just like Haru- no, Konoha did.

It may be slow but she knew that little by little she's start to forget, in a way she related to Shintaro as he didn't want to forget about Ayano, but she wasn't going to lose herself over it. Sooner or later, they will gradually fade. The movement of his fingers as he sketched, the little quirks in his speech patterns, even one day his smile too would fade. That's why she was glad Shintaro was there, he made it easier to remember the past.

Ene gradually stopped the movement of her jersey sleeves and she stared at them, her lips turned upwards. She enjoyed long sleeves a lot, she remembered the time she found out her fondness…

That was something she could thank Haruka for.

* * *

_Takane was lying with her head within her arms on her desk, her headphones draped around her neck. She used them all the time, they were a partner of her's however they could be classified as an accessory too. The scribbles of pencil on paper were the only other noise in the room. She turned her head on the side to look at the person making the noise, and just like she expected there was Haruka drawing, a smile gracing his lips as he did so. He looked so content. The twin-tailed girl was jealous of him in some ways, his illness was far more severe than her's would ever be, yet he still smiled and moved forward with optimism in every stride. _

_He was a big contrast to herself. Tired and bitter with an unsettling gaze was all she had to offer to anyone. It wasn't all her fault she was like this, it was because of her damned illness that she was so tired all the time. (playing video games till 4am isn't always a good idea either but still.) She believed that it was because of her illness that she came to be like this. _

_Takane was taken out of her thoughts by her own body shivering, she almost forgot about the cool temperature of the classroom. It was a fridgid morning, but as the day progressed it got even worse. _

_She sat up and wrapped her arms around herself for warmth, her school sweater was obviously no help at all as her body still shook slightly. _

_Haruka noticed the sudden movement from the desk beside him and took his attention away from his notebook. "Are you okay, Takane?" Haruka asked, his voice dripping with care. _

_"I'm fine, it's just a cold day." Takane responded, scowling at her desk. Her classmate didn't like her discomfort, and before Takane knew it Haruka was taking off his sweater. "Idiot! What are you doing? You'll make yourself colder!" She frowned at Haruka._

_"You're implying I was cold in the first place. Don't worry! It's you who is obviously bothered by the cold. Take it!" While holding out his green sweater, the boy gave a soft smile. He honestly felt fine, and he didn't want Takane to suffer because of the temperature. _

_In a response to his actions Takane didn't look happy in the slightest. "I don't need it, I said I'm fine didn't I? It'd be more worrying if you were colder than I am." She responded defiantly. Even if she was shaking she'd rather he be in a better condition than her. It was just over protection of him over his illness but anything to make her worry less about him every day. Her body was going against her words and she shook and gripped onto herself tighter._

_"Takane you're shaking pretty badly, please take it!" He insisted even more with a pout on his features. Takane wanted nothing more than to look away from his face and let him keep it to himself but she knew he was too much of a nice guy and he would persist till he was satisfied she was okay. Reluctantly she reached out to take the grass-green sweater out of his hand. It was warm. She slowly put it over her head. Once it surrounded her torso it wasn't hard to see how massive it was on her, but the fact it was bigger just made it warmer. It was because it was Haruka's that she could smell his scent around her now, it was a nice scent, one she wouldn't be against having round her more often. _

_The newly attired Takane looked back to the male beside her, his smile had taken over the pout he had before, she looked away again, she could feel her blush, she knew she probably looked silly in such oversized clothing. _

_"See, you've stopped shaking." He spoke gleefully. Takane looked down at the sleeves, she swished them around, they even kept her hands warm like gloves. This sweater gave a nice feeling. She looked back up from the distraction, cheeks red, embarrassed by being distracted by something so dumb but even so she couldn't help but smile._

_"Thanks, Haruka."_

Ene gave a content sigh, smiling at such a fond memory.


End file.
